Porto: a gastronomic wonder

One of the reasons we chose Porto as our first city-break destination (apart from the absurdly cheap airfares) was that a foodie magazine I had recently read declared it one of Europe´s top foodie cities.

As you can imagine, my mind wandered and I had conjured up an idea of each meal I would indulge in while we were there... feasting on local specialities, I would take notes at the dinner table as to how I could recreate the wonders at home. I can safely report, that there has been no such note-taking, in fact, one of the things I will miss least about Porto is the cuisine.


The following paragraphs will detail a few of the gastronomic encounters that took place:

Francesinha (or as I like to think of it, a heart attack waiting to happen)
Take two slices of bread, toast lightly... sandwich between bread: 1 piece of steak, 2 or 3 long salami like sausages (mildly spicy), and two different ham-like products... next cover with cheese and grill until melted... finally, and most importantly, place in a bowl and drown in a mildly spiced gravy. Serve. (sometimes, if you are feeling particularly cholesterol deficient you may like to put a fried egg on the top)

Yes, I tried the Francesinha. I must admit, I did ask for it without the steak, so I was only eating products from one farm animal instead of two... I didn't opt for the egg on top either. For someone who has consisted on a mainly vegetarian diet since arriving in England, it was a bold choice, but it was a Portuguese speciality and I felt obliged to give it a go. I only managed to finish half of it. I can't say that it was absolutely terrible, but I can also quite happily state that I will never have another, or have the desire to have another.

Bacalhau. Sounds exotic doesn't it? It's dried salted cod. Hmmm... yes, so what they have done is take a perfectly good fresh fish... then prepare it so that the diner feels like she (or he) is munching on fish jerky. Not particularly appetising. I had mine with boiled potatoes and egg and a couple of olives and slices of tomato. There is another dish which is called Bacalhau a gomes de sa and it serves the fish with onions, boiled potatoes, scrambled eggs, olives and parsley. Sounds pretty appetising, but after the first encounter with the dried fish, I opted out.

In general, no matter where you go, the cafe under the hotel, the cheap cafe down the side street, the expensive restaurant down on the riverside... the menu is always the same...the prices may change, but basically you are consistently confronted with meat, meat, meat, potatoes, rice... after just four days, I was fantasising about salads and fresh fruit.

Now, before I go, I have to commend the Portuguese on two things they do very well.

The first, blatantly obvious, Port. We had a fantastic tasting session in a little rustic place called Vinologia, located near the river... we were treated to six different types of port, all from small grower/producers in the Porto area. I discovered that there are several different types of Port - the dark reds, tawnys and whites! We got to sample the only organic port that is currently produced and a type which will continue to improve each year until it is opened because of the special bottling process involved. I can't say that Port is my thing, a bit too sickly sweet for me... but this was definitely my foodie highlight!

The other gastronomic pleasure which cannot pass uncommented on is Portuguese pastries. Central Porto is saturated with bakeries. We decided very early on in the stay that Portugal must have one of the highest person:bakery ratios in the world! The thing they specialise in, and they do it very well, is custard-filled pastries... that is custard tarts, which have been baked and kind of resemble a creme brulee in a pastry case... or custard filled doughnuts... or multi-layered custard/pastry towers! We developed an afternoon pastry habit... after a day in the rain, there was nothing we looked forward to more, than taking refuge back in the hotel room for a late afternoon siesta and a pastry fix!

So, in conclusion, if you are looking for all your culinary dreams to come true in Portugal, don't bother... however if you have a sweet tooth for pastries and port... then you'll be in heaven!

"You´re not in Kansas Anymore..."

I don´t think English people realise how lucky they are... the ease with which they can travel onto the European continent in the 21st century is astounding. Airlines like Ryan air and Easy jet sell one way tickets to Florence, Prague, Berlin, Paris (and on, and on, and on...) for as little as 79p and you just pay airport taxes on top of that! -- how can such deals be resisted?? A four day trip to Porto, for example, winds up cheaper than a trip of similar length to Manchester, when you take into account the cost of accommodation.

And thus, Bri and I set out for Porto this last Tuesday, for a four-day city break. Would you believe, two hours and five minutes after leaving London Stansted airport and we were in Portugal?!?

I was really looking forward to my first opportunity to get out on to the European continent. My only concern was the language barrier. I am afraid that languages don't come naturally to me, and this would be my first visit to a non-English speaking country, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Armed with a phrase book and a very bad accent, we made our way into the city centre.

The bus ride into central Porto was fascinating... one of the most dominant features of portuguese architecture is tazulejo (or tiling) and 85% of the buildings - whether they be homes, office buildings or public buildings such as churches - use this feature. It was so different to anything I'd seen before, and meant that even the more run down areas we passed had a beauty and character that I have not seen in areas of similar wealth in England or New Zealand.

Arriving in central Porto, the bus dropped us off, and it was a short, confusing wander to our hotel which was right on the border of the World Heritage zoned Historic City Centre. The city was everything Id dreamed of a European city to be - cobbled roads, central courtyard areas dotted with cafes and umbrellas, and sneaky little lanes that were begging to be explored!

We soon found out that the language barrier was not going to be a problem. Every single person we encountered spoke English. I felt guilty - as though I was in their country and should be making an effort to communicate in their language, but as soon as I pulled out the phrase book they would just speak to us in English - I guess it was easier (and much faster!) for both them and me. We did pick up a few key phrases though - hello, thank you, please - just to feel as though we were making an effort.

One thing I was not prepared for was the weather. It rained (I'm talking torrential, bucketing rain) from the first afternoon we arrived until our last afternoon in Porto. Europe has always been a bit of a fantasy destination for me, and with fantasy destinations you imagine fantasy weather (sunshine or snow - nothing in between!) - can you believe we even packed our togs!? Alas, it wasn't to be... one person we met told us that this is the worst weather they have had for this time of year that he can remember!

I can't say that Porto was a city of must-see attractions, rather it was the type of city that you visit just to wander the streets, to soak in a culture that is so different to your own. For four days we wandered, poking our heads in to museums and churches, sampling Port and other Portuguese specialities, window shopping the latest European fashions, and then before we knew it, it was time to go home... a 2 hour and 5 minutes flight later and we were back in England... a whole world away.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da... Life goes on

I have discovered that real life tends to sneak up on you no matter where you are... it was a little over three months ago that I left New Zealand and I am amazed at how normal my life in Cambridge now seems.

I was on the bus on my way to work the other morning, and just had a crazy dream-like moment - what am I doing here... how is this my life? Aren't I meant to be in New Zealand enjoying the spring weather and making plans for a nice long summer? Several months ago I was at home, with Barry and family and friends getting on with life... and now here I am, doing it in Cambridge... and it just feels so normal.

Its not new and fresh anymore... the small things that I got a kick out of just because they were different, like supermarket shopping or catching the bus... are now the norm and no big deal.

I miss people and things from home, but I'm now used to being without them... it's like I am fully adjusted to this life in England. (OK, almost fully... I must admit that I utter, "These English people are a bit weird" about once a week.)

There are aspects I really enjoy... things I didn't really think about before I left... I am actually enjoying the independence of the whole experience more than I thought I would. It's strange, in so many ways I miss being able to share this experience with Barry... there is so much that I know he would add... wanting to see things that I wouldn't necessarily want to see, but do end up enjoying... or just noticing different aspects of the world around us that I don't. At the same time though, having this experience by myself makes me feel like a real adult for pretty much the first time in my life... still, it is a rather odd way to spend our first year of marriage... and one we won't be repeating - ever, ever, ever!

Winter is setting in, and I am told that by early November it will be dark on my way to work and dark on my way home... lunchtime will be my only chance to see the sun, and I am not looking forward to the vitamin D deficiency!

It is obvious that I need to shake things up a little and while I can't avoid a routine life for ever, I can devise some substantial distractions. Bri and I are off to Porto on Tuesday, and I think that is a good start...